Beautiful Warrior: The Legend of the Nun's Kung Fu »

From the Caldecott Medal-winning author/illustrator of Mirette on the Highwire, comes this dramatic, multi-layered story of two legendary women warriors, Wu Mei, the "beautiful warrior", and her most famous pupil, Mingyi.

Children's Literature

With a name like Jingyong, 'Quiet Courage,' how could the heroine of this story possibly grow up quiet and quiescent at court? So despite her mother's worries ("Who will marry an educated woman?") it is decided that she must find her own path. Find it she does. Her path leads to the Shaolin monastery. Under the tutelage of a wise nun, the girl learns to still her mind, harness her qi, and summon strength when she needs it. In the end, she decides her own destiny. An author's note provides fascinating material on the background to kung fu.